George Wilmarth "Wiley" Nickel III (born November 23, 1975) is an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district from 2023 to 2025.
Nickel served as a member of the North Carolina Senate from the 16th district from 2019 to 2023. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2022. On December 16, 2023, Nickel decided not to seek re-election after his seat was redrawn to heavily favor the Republican Party.
On April 9, 2025, Nickel launched his campaign for the United States Senate in the 2026 election, but withdrew on July 29 after former Governor Roy Cooper declared his candidacy. On September 16, 2025, Nickel announced his candidacy for District Attorney of Wake County.
On March 3, 2026, he won the Democratic primary for Wake County District Attorney in a three-candidate race.
Nickel faces no Republican or other-party opposition in the November 2026 general election and is running unopposed.
Nickel was born in Fresno, California, on November 23, 1975. He is the great-great-great-grandson of Henry Miller, who was one of the largest landowners in the 19th century and established a farming empire in the Central Valley of California. After graduating from Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from Tulane University and a Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law.
Nickel worked for Vice President Al Gore from 1996 to 2001 as a member of his national advance staff. He is also a member of Gore's Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
Nickel later worked on Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and served on the White House national advance staff from 2008 until 2012. He is a member of the Obama Alumni Association and was part of Obama's first wave of political endorsements in 2018. Obama endorsed six candidates in North Carolina, including Nickel, in August 2018.
Nickel ran in California's 12th State Senate district in 2006 against incumbent Republican Jeff Denham. He was called "a moderate Democrat" and the race was seen as potentially competitive. During the primary election, he spent $250,000 on advertisements, mainly funded by personal loans. The ads, which mainly ran in the Sacramento media market, did not mention what district he was running in or his party affiliation. He lost the general election to Denham, receiving 40.2% of the vote to Denham's 59.8%.
Nickel was a criminal defense attorney, having opened his law practice in Cary in 2011.
Nickel was first elected to represent the 16th senate district with over 65% of the vote on November 6, 2018. He held a seat that had been opened when incumbent Jay Chaudhuri was redistricted into the neighboring 15th district. His victory helped to break the Republican supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly.
Nickel ran for reelection in 2020. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary and defeated Republican nominee Will Marsh with 65.6% of the vote. He was endorsed by The News & Observer.
Nickel was appointed to the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources Committee, the Pensions/Retirement/Aging Committee and the Education/Higher Education Appropriations Committee on January 18, 2019. He co-sponsored a bill to restore master's degree and doctoral degree pay for teachers in North Carolina.
Nickel co-sponsored Senate Bill 209, which would increase the scope and punishment of hate crimes and require the SBI to maintain and create a hate crimes statistics database. He spoke about SB 209 during a candlelight vigil at the Islamic Center of Cary to remember the New Zealand terror attack victims.
Nickel served on the Redistricting and Elections Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Pensions/Retirement/Aging Committee, and the Appropriations on General Government/Information Technology Committee in the state senate.
Nickel ran for Congress in North Carolina's newly drawn 13th congressional district. The district covers southern Wake County, all of Johnston County, and parts of Wayne and Harnett Counties. Nickel won the Democratic nomination.
The conservative Carolina Journal wrote that Nickel ran "as a moderate despite a fairly left-wing voting record".
Nickel was endorsed by the Network for Public Education Fund, the North Carolina Association of Educators, NARAL Pro-Choice America, Communication Workers of America, the North Carolina State AFL-CIO, the National Association of Social Workers, Human Rights Campaign, Everytown for Gun Safety, the League of Conservation Voters, the Voter Protection Project, the Sierra Club, Equality North Carolina, the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans, North Carolina Asian Americans Together in Action, and Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina.
Nickel defeated Bo Hines, the Republican nominee, in the November 8 general election.
Nickel was sworn in as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 13th congressional district in January, 2023.
In April 2024, Nickel introduced the Fair and Impartial Redistricting for Meaningful and Accountable Political Systems (FAIR MAPS) Act, legislation designed to combat partisan gerrymandering by establishing independent, nonpartisan redistricting commissions nationwide. The proposal was introduced in response to ongoing disputes over congressional maps, including in North Carolina.
Nickel retired after one term leaving office in January 2025, with plans of running in 2026 for US Senate.
On April 9, 2025, Nickel announced his candidacy for the United States Senate. On June 29, 2025, Thom Tillis withdrew from the election. The race is expected to be highly competitive, potentially deciding control of the Senate in 2026.
With the entry of former Governor Roy Cooper into the US Senate race, Nickel suspended his US Senate campaign, endorsed Cooper, and ran instead for Wake County, North Carolina District Attorney seat. On March 3, 2026, Nickel won the Democratic primary, defeating assistant district attorney Melanie Shekita and former prosecutor Sherita Walton. Nickel will be running unopposed in the general election.
Nickel's campaign focused on expanding resources for the Wake County District AttorneyâÂÂs Office, citing staffing shortages relative to population growth.
Nickel was endorsed by the Raleigh News & Observer, which wrote that Wake County needed "not only a new head prosecutor, but a fresh view of how to support and employ the powers of the office."
Nickel supports abortion rights and codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law.
During his tenure in Congress, Nickel received a 94% score from the Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard, which evaluates lawmakers based on their support for LGBTQ-related legislation and policy positions. He also co-sponsored the Equality Act in the 118th Congress, legislation that would expand federal civil rights protections to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Nickel voted against a resolution to condemn attacks against crisis pregnancy centers, anti-abortion individuals, and churches.
Born in California, Nickel moved to North Carolina in 2009. He lives in Cary with his wife, Caroline, and their two children. Nickel is a second cousin of conservative commentator Tucker Carlson.
|-